Joe’s Saturday

On Saturdays Joe usually trains with Evan and Eli at 11. He has a suspicion that Evan isn’t going to make it today.

Joe finds his old man passed out on the couch. He nearly polished of his 26 of whiskey. What a drunk.

Joe gets ready. He eats the A&W burger and throws out the fries. Then he heads to the usual meeting spot, Raccoon Gardens, a nearby park, . Eli shows up right on time. They decide to wait a bit for Evan on the off chance he does show up.

“She’s going back to her boyfriend, you know that right? I wanted to tell him but I knew he would just flip out”

“He’ll learn. I am glad he fought to save her, even if it was naive. You should have seen that kid 6 months ago, a complete pussy, he would never have stood up to that guy and if he tried he would have gotten his ass handed to him. I trained him well” explains Joe.

“Yeah, it was a noble thing to do, but I am not talking about that. You see how he looks at her? He’s gonna fall in love and try to save her and she’s just going to go crawling back. You know how it’s gonna end.”

“It’ll do him some good, show him the world ain’t some fairy tale.”

“I mean, I’d like to feel sorry for her, but I don’t. Evan needs to realize he can only help people willing to help themselves”

“You need to not take things so seriously. Its just some petty drama that will blow over in a week. Let the kid make some mistakes. Who knows maybe she’s a nice girl after all. You can’t just go assuming you know how things are going to work out”

For their days training they warm up with a quick run then drill their ground game in the park. They get some weird looks from people wondering what 2 guys rolling on the ground are doing, but it never bothers them. The grass is soft, almost as good as a mat. They then drill striking with a focus on dodging punches so Eli won’t make the same mistake again. He’s looking ugly as hell with his swollen nose and dark eyes. To finish they do sprints.

Joe and Eli both get a text from Evan “Sorry I slept in, I had a late night with Eve ;)”

“Can you believe this guy?” says Eli. He texts Evan “I hope you wore a condom”

“I’ll catch you later, I gotta go do some chores, get some groceries” says Eli

“Yeah that’s what weekend days are for. Take care my man.” as Joe goes his own way.

Now what to do with the rest of the day Joe thinks. The old man would probably be grumpy with his hangover but he did need to shower.

When Joe gets home his dad hadn’t moved from the couch. I wonder how long he’s gonna sleep there. Shortly after Joe jumps in the shower he hears THUMP THUMP THUMP on the door. “Hurry up in there” shouts his dad. “Just a minute”. Joe dries himself off and gets dressed quickly. As soon as he opens the door his dad rushes past him and pukes in the toilet. Why do people do that to themselves? wonders Joe. “I am going out, be back later” he tells his dad. His dad mumbles something in response.

Normally Joe would kill some time at the mall but considering yesterday’s events he decides that that’s probably not a good idea. He instead walks to the nearby commercial area. There’s lots of stores and a few places to eat there. On the way a guy with a shaved head who looks to be in his teens asks Joe if he has a smoke. Joe says “I don’t smoke but I’ll buy you a pack.” “You serious? What do I have to do?” asks the guy with a hint of suspicion. “Nothing, its your lucky day. I am feeling generous” responds Joe. “What’s your name?” Joe adds on. “I am Jake, nice to meet you” “Mines Joe”.

They walk to a nearby convenience store. Along the way Jake talks about how he recently got kicked out his house and is now living under a bridge. Jake comes across as a bit crazy but that doesn’t bother Joe, he’s thinking a new recruit. Joe goes in and buys the smokes and a Snickers bar for himself . As he hands them over Jake says “Thanks a lot, that’s the nicest thing anyone has done for me for a long time”. “You’re welcome, I like helping people out, makes me feel good about myself you know” Joe says, he continues “By the way, me and my friends usually box at Raccoon Gardens monday nights if you’re interested.” “Damn right I am interested. What time?” Jake inquires. “7:00, can you make it?” “Yeah I’ll be there, thanks for the smokes brother” and they go their separate ways.